Heating, cooling and ventilating system



March 1 J. D. PIERCE 2,876,690

HEATING, COOLING AND VENTILATING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 11, 1955 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. J0sPH Z7. P/ERcE.

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J. D. PIERCE March 10,1959

HEATING, COOLING AND VENTILATING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 11,1955 INVEN TOR.

JOSEPH D. P/ERCE BY 3 United States Patent HEATING, COOLING ANDVENTILATING SYSTEM Joseph D. Pierce, West Hartford, 'Conn., assignor toThe Vulcan Radiator Company, Hartford, Conn.

Application January 11, 1955, Serial No. 481,059

7 Claims. (Cl. 98--38) This invention relates to a heating, cooling andventilating system and more particularly to an air-conditioning systemthat is adapted for heating, cooling and ventalating space within abuilding or room; the said system being particularly designed to heat orcool, while at the same time ventilate, or to just ventilate.

It is an object of this invention to provide such a system whichincludes one or more air-conditioning units having a heating or coolingelement in combination with means for blowing a controlled amount offresh air over or through said element and thereby aspiring circulationof the interior room air through the said unit along with the fresh air.

A further object of this invention is the provision of such a systemwherein there is included an element for draining oif condensate whenthe system is used for cooling.

A still further object of this invention is to provide anair-conditioning unit for said system which is compact and attractive indesign as well as economical to manufacture and highly efficient in itsoperation.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearlyunderstood from the following description and from the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view, on line 11 of Fig. 2, of anair-conditioning unit used in combination with my improved system.

Fig. 2 is a front view of said unit with parts thereof broken away andin section.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of said unit on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view of a modified form of unit.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional side view, on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, withparts being shown in elevation.

Fig. 6 is a sectional side view on line 66 of Fig. 4.

As shown in the drawings, the numeral 5 denotes a side wall of a room orbuilding and 6 denotes the floor thereof.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, this invention includes what may be termedan air-conditioning unit which is composed generally of an enclosure 7having a back plate 8 that preferably fits against the wall 5, and afront plate or cover 9 which forms the upper portion of the front ofsaid enclosure and is supported on suitable brackets 10 and 11 that aremounted upon a supporting bracket 12. The back plate 8 has a top portion13 which extends laterally therefrom and is spaced from the top of thefront plate 9 to provide an air outlet opening 14 that is controlled bymeans ofa suitable damper or shutter 15 for regulating the flow of airthrough the said unit.

An inlet opening 16 is provided below the front plate 9 and a suitableheating or cooling element 17 is contained in said unit between thefront plate 9 and the back plate 8 and supported therein by suitablebrackets, not shown. The said element may be generally in the form of aheat-exchanger and includes a conductor pipe 17-a for a heat-transfercirculant, and a series of heat-transferring fins 18 for transferringheat to or from the pipe.

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2 v The said pipe 17 may be connected to a suitable source for a heatingor cooling circulant by means of conductor pipes 19 and 20'.

It is well known that in such forms of air-conditioning units air fromthe room is permitted to enter the unit through the inlet space 16, passthrough the fins of the element 17, and then leave the unit through thedischarge opening 14; thus the air of the room or space beingconditioned is circulated through the said unit and repeatedly broughtinto contact with the heat-transfer fins 18.

In order to permit the use of such air-conditioning units in combinationwith heating, cooling and ventilating systems, I provide an air duct 21that is preferably constructed of an elongated trough-shaped member 21-ahaving front, rear and bottom walls 22, 23 and 24, respectively, and atop wall 25 which is disposed below the upper edges of the said frontand rear walls to provide, in the top of the duct, a drain trough 26which is located below the element 17.

The upper edge portion 27 of the front wall 22 is bent inwardly at anangle, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and the upper wall 25 of the said airduct has upstanding portions forming front and rear side walls 28 and29, respectively, of the drain trough 26. The front side wall 28 runsparallel to and adjacent the upper edge portion 27 and is disposed atsubstantially the same angle and secured against the inner side of saidportion 27 at spaced intervals, as shown in Fig. 3; the intermediateportions of said wall 29 being spaced from the portion 27, to provide,along the lower edge of the opening 16 a series of spaced air jets 30which are adapted to discharge fresh air upwardly and inwardly into thesaid unit so as to aspirate the room air through the said unit andthereby induce circulation of the room air over the element 17.

In the form of the unit shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the said air duct 21 maybe located upon the floor 6 and adjacent the wall 5 where it is disposedbelow and spaced from the upper front portion 9 so that the inletopening 16 is provided and the front wall 22 of said duct is utilized toform the lower front portion of the enclosure.

In the form of air-conditioning unit just above described, the air isforced into the duct 21 by a suitable fan or blower drawing fresh airfrom the exterior of the building. The said fresh air is then dischargedthrough the jets 30 and directed thereby inwardly and upwardly throughthe unit and over the element 17. The said jets of air will aspirate airfrom the room through the inlet opening 16, mixing it with the freshair, and directing the mixed air over the said element and dischargingit into the room through the outlet opening 14.

When the said unit is used for cooling, a cooling medium is circulatedthrough the pipe 17-a; thus cooling the element 17. The fresh airsupplied through the jets 30 will then aspirate room air and circulateit over the said cooled element and cool the mixed air in the samemanner as it is heated when the said unit is used for heating purposes.

Any condensate formed upon the cooled element 17, by the cooling of theair brought into contact therewith, will drop from said element into thedrain trough 26 from which the condensate will drain into the pipe 32.and be carried away thereby.

In the modified form of air-conditioning unit illustrated in Figs. 4 to6, I provide a suitable enclosure 35 having a heating element section 36and a blower section 37. Suit able heating elements 38 and 39 aremounted in the section 36 and a blower 40 is contained within thesection 37 and adapted to draw fresh air, preferably through a grill 41,from the exterior of the building. The said unit is preferably installedunder a window sill 42 of a building but may also be used in any othersuitable location.

The front cover or wall of the section 35 is provided with inlet louvers43, which are located below the heating elements 38 and 30, and withoutlet louvers 44 that are located above said heating elements.

A fresh air duct 45 is provided along the bottom of the enclosure andbelow the louvers 43 in the front wall. This fresh air duct has a seriesof spaced air jets 46 running along the upper front edge thereof andangled to direct air streams upwardly and inwardly past the inletlouvers 43, so as to aspirate room air therethrough and re-circulate themixed air over the heating elements 38 and 39 and through the dischargelouvers 44.

The operation of the said modified form of unit is the same as thatabove described for the form illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 with theexception that the said modified unit is intended for heating andventilating, or for ventilating only, and not for cooling and the draintrough 26 is therefore omitted.

It will be noted that the front plate 9 has a bottom flange 7a whichextends inwardly and upwardly into the enclosure and thereby provides anair guide above the jet 27 which causes the opening 16 to operate as aventuri for drawing air into the inlet opening 16.

It has been found by actual experience that very satis factory resultsmay be obtained by mixing fresh air with the room air in proportions ofone cubic foot of fresh air to each cubic foot of room air that is movedthrough the conditioning unit. In the type illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6,which is particularly intended for use in school rooms, it is preferredto mix one cubic foot of fresh air to one and a half cubic feet of roomair. In extremely cold weather, lesser amounts of fresh air may besupplied through the air jets in proportion to the amount of room air.

I claim:

1. In a heating and ventilating system for a building, a unit includingan enclosure having inlet and outlet openings, a heat-exchanger betweensaid openings, a fresh air duct communicating with the exterior of thebuilding and having a front wall with an upper edge running along thebottom of the inlet opening, means for forcing air through said duct,and a series of jets disposed along said upper edge of the front walland angled upwardly and inwardly for directing air from said duct pastthe inlet opening into said enclosure and over the heat-exchanger andthrough the outlet opening.

2. In a heating, ventilating and cooling system, an airconditioning unitincluding an enclosure having a lower inlet opening, an upper outletopening, a heat-exchanger. between said openings, a duct running alongthe bottom of said unit below the said lower opening, means forming adrain trough in the top of said duct, and means forming an air jetlocated at the front upper edge of said duct and having side Wallsangled upwardly and inwardly for directing air from said duct inwardlypast the inlet opening into said enclosure, over the said heat-exchangerand through the outlet opening.

3. An air-conditioning unit including an enclosure having a lower inletopening and an upper outlet opening, a heat-exchanger element betweensaid openings, an air duct running along the bottom of said unit belowand at said inlet opening, means providing an air jet located adjacentthe bottom of said lower opening and having side walls angled inwardlyto direct air from said duct inwardly and upwardly past the said lowerinlet opening into the enclosure and thereby aspirate air from theexterior of said unit and cause circulation thereof through said unit.

4. An air-conditioning unit including an enclosure having a front wallwith a lower inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, a heat-exchangeelement between said openings, an air duct running along the bottom ofsaid unit below said inlet opening and having air-discharge openingsalong the upper front edge thereof disposed at the bottom of the inletopening; the walls of said air discharge opening being angled to directair from said duct inwardly past the said inlet opening and therebyinduce a flow of air through said inlet opening and cause circulation ofthe mixed air over the heat-exchanger and outwardly through the outletopening.

5. An air-conditioning unit including an enclosure having a front wallwith a lower inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, an air ductrunning along the bottom of the unit below said inlet opening and havinga top wall and a front wall, the said top wall having upstanding sidewalls forming a drain trough running along the top of said duct, thefront upstanding wall of the trough and the upper portion of the saidfront wall of the duct being spaced to form an air jet therebetween andangled inwardly for directing air from said duct inwardly and upwardlythrough the said enclosure.

6. An air-conditioning unit including an enclosure having a front wallwith a lower inlet opening and an upper outlet opening, a heat-exchangerlocated between said openings, an air duct running along the bottom ofsaid enclosure and having a front wall forming a front portion of theenclosure and a top wall with upstanding portions forming side Walls fora drain trough running along the top of said duct; the front upstandingside wall of the drain trough and the upper edge portion of the frontwall of the duct being adjacent the lower edge of the inlet opening andspaced for forming jets therebetween, the said jets being angled fordirecting air from said duct upwardly and inwardly into said enclosureand thereby causing aspiration of room air through the said inletopening and re-circulation of the mixed air through said unit.

7. An air-conditioning unit including an enclosure having a top portionand an upper portion spaced from the said top portion and providing anair outlet opening therebetween, an air duct disposed below the saidupper portion and spaced from the bottom thereof to provide an inletopening therebetween, a drain trough in the top of said air duct havingupstanding side wall portions, the side wall portion of said trough andthe upper edge portion of the front wall of the duct adjacent the inletopening being angled inwardly and spaced to provide an air jettherebetween for directing air from said duct upwardly and inwardly pastthe said inlet opening and into the enclosure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,995,667 Cano Mar. 26, 1935 2,144,466 Stikeleather Jan. 17, 19392,158,758 Lintern May 16, 1939 2,345,537 Keep Mar. 28, 1944 2,662,747Trane et al Dec. 15, 1953 2,711,681 Levine June 28, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS379,430 Great Britain Sept. 1, 1932

